275:, by car. Koons was given no instructions about what to illustrate, and he had not met Dodge or his family at this point. His drawings for the book were purely from his imagination and his interpretation of Dodge's writing. After the book was published, reviewers remarked that Koons must know Mexico well. However, he had never been there; he illustrated aspects of Mexico that he guessed would be similar to India and adapted them based on Dodge's descriptions. Koons went on to illustrate four more of Dodge's books,
165:
142:, the son of Frank and Rose (Silver) Koons. His father owned a printing shop and, as a teenager, Koons began assisting in the family business by designing items for their clients (throughout his career, he credited his father as the major influence on his design aesthetic). In 1932, his older sister, Eleanor Pearl Koons, drowned in a local swimming pool at age 14. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to
28:
523:, each depicting a different interpretation of the eight most important events in the history of the Jewish people; the crowns symbolized the flames. In 1960, he designed and executed a massive (50 feet wide x 9 feet tall) memorial wall comprising seven stained-glass windows depicting Biblical events for a conference hall at the
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Koons won numerous awards for marketing, packaging, and advertising. In 1982 he was named the
Packaging Person of the Year by the Packaging Designers Council. This was a rare award, having been presented only three times before, and only when the Council thought it warranted. The award presentation
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Before settling into package and product design, Koons provided numerous illustrations for advertisements, then quickly transitioned into creating entire advertising campaigns. IKA's first packaging design client was
Consolidated Cigar Corporation in 1953, for whom he provided designs for Yorkshire
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Although he continued to illustrate David Dodge's books until the mid-1950s, Irv Koons' professional focus shifted from illustration to packaging and industrial design. In 1949, he founded his own consulting design firm, Irv Koons
Associates, Inc. (IKA), in New York, for which he served as CEO and
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Throughout his nearly fifty-year career, Koons worked tirelessly to promote a better understanding of the role of packaging in the successful marketing of commercial products and a greater appreciation for the historical importance of packaging. He lectured and taught extensively and, in 1973,
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in New York City in a room designed to hold about fifty attendees. However, the PDC received such an overwhelming response from designers, friends, and students from around the world who wanted to attend that the event had to be moved at the last minute to a larger venue at the
118:(March 14, 1922 – September 10, 2017) was an award-winning American graphic artist, industrial designer, and illustrator who became one of the leading consumer package designers of the 20th century. In 1949, he founded Irv Koons Associates, Inc., an
225:
to teach art and continue their painting. Although he realized early on that his career was in commercial art and design, Koons was an accomplished and prolific painter and sculptor, and he continued to work in a variety of mediums, but chiefly in
176:, where he designed stage sets for Broadway shows traveling to overseas army posts to entertain the troops. He was then assigned to New York to work as a designer/illustrator for the Army's Information and Education Division before being sent to
394:
In addition to
Consolidated Cigar, Seagram, and Mueller, Koons worked on projects for many other companies and organizations designing packaging, advertisements and logos, leaflets, brochures, and booklets. Among his best-known clients were
519:). Cast in solid silver with gold plated highlights and antiquing, which Koons did by hand himself, this was the first such coordinated set of ornaments ever executed. The designs were based on the
161:, selling his class projects, and washing dishes. In 1942, after taking a course in camouflage design, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and trained in the infantry and the amphibious engineers.
354:. He also designed special equipment and furniture for the venture and taught a group of locals with virtually no art training how to do print mechanicals and produce the newspaper daily.
255:. The assignment had been held for him until his arrival in New York by an editor who had seen some of the drawings he had sent from India to friends in lieu of letters. The book, titled
391:, a New Jersey pasta manufacturer, joined the client list. All three of these relationships lasted for decades during which time IKA created packages for multiple brands.
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Creative Head. IKA was the leading packaging design firm for four decades, with more than two dozen employees at its height. In 1981, the firm was acquired by
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that included intensive professional seminars on packaging design and product marketing. He later expanded his seminar to reach international audiences in
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in
Englewood, New Jersey, where Leah was also a resident. He died there on September 10, 2017. Leah died on February 18, 2019. They are both buried in
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Porter, Glenn (1999). "Cultural Forces and
Commercial Restraints: Designing Packaging in the Twentieth-Century United States".
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Koons also designed items, including advertising and publications, for various non-profits and Jewish organizations such as
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210:. Koons helped organize the first International Art Exhibition held in India and was instrumental in the founding of the
157:. With only $ 100 in his pocket when he arrived in New York, Koons worked his way through school by teaching art in
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After his retirement, Koons established Irv Koons Design, an independent design consulting firm, at his home in
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Irv Koons was married to Leah Fay on
December 25, 1949, and they had three sons, Adam, Jonathan, and Joshua.
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licorice candy, his iconic bottle design for FrĂŻs Vodka, and numerous other designs are still in use today.
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In 1946, after his discharge from the army, Irv Koons returned to New York where he enrolled in
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several times, including three gold Clios, and his work is included in the collections of the
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Just before his unit was deployed for combat, he was reassigned to a
Special Services unit in
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In 1939, after graduating from
Reading High School early at the age of 16, Koons went to
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Selling the Silent
Salesman: Irv Koons and Mid-Twentieth Century Packaging Design
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In 1956, along with his associate Ben Rosen, Koons designed the first cold type
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and received his first major assignment, a series of forty illustrations for
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Papers of Irv Koons, Yeshiva University Museum (Center for Jewish History)
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Irv Koons Papers, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
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511:. Koons also created Jewish art pieces, including a complete set of eight
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Koons also contributed illustrations to a variety of periodicals, such as
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Any Fool Can Do Magic!: A Jester's Guide to Becoming a Great Magician.
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Young Arthur & the Magic Sword: Stories for the Young at Heart.
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Ye Olde Cambridge Jester's Academy, 1995; Metamorphic Press, 2021.
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A David Dodge Companion, via the Wayback Machine, Internet Archive
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developed a three-day "Fundamentals of Packaging" course for the
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as Senior Advisor to the Administrator, a volunteer appointment.
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697:. Random House, 1953 (updated and revised annually 1954–1959).
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Irv Koons Design, via the Wayback Machine, Internet Archive
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2000 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century
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and dinner was originally scheduled to take place at the
206:, the Indian art magazine, and became a member of the
1075:"Irvin Louis Koons," Marquis Who's Who, via WorldCat
251:for a humorous "travel diary" by American novelist
883:Personal communication with Jon Koons, March 2021.
591:New York University School of Continuing Education
781:Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1967
681:The Crazy Glasspecker, or, High Life in the Andes
652:
641:At the end of his life, Irv Koons moved into the
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725:BearManor Media, 2015; Metamorphic Press, 2020.
704:. Random House, 1955 (dust jacket design only).
660:Judah Halevi in Granada: A Story of His Boyhood
525:Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York
505:Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York
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138:Irvin Louis Koons was born March 14, 1922, in
1065:Irv Koons Papers, Hagley Museum & Library
1055:"Irv Koons: The Man and His Art," via YouTube
217:After the war, Koons studied painting at the
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379:. In 1956, Koons accepted an assignment for
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358:Package design / Irv Koons Associates, Inc.
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515:for the Temple Emanu-El in Englewood (now
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291:(1953), and provided dust jacket art for
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918:Fay, Leah (May–June 1959). "Irv Koons".
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558:Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
471:pet food, and many more. His design for
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86:Artist, industrial designer, illustrator
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755:New Jersey, U.S. Death Index, 1901-2017
479:Non-profit and Jewish organization work
168:Portrait of Irv Koons by Leah Fay Koons
1135:Burials at Calverton National Cemetery
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501:Union of American Hebrew Congregations
493:Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
208:All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society
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625:. He also did freelance design work.
576:. In 2001, Irv Koons was included in
219:École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau
1140:People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
976:. MA Thesis, University of Delaware.
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369:United Nations Development Programme
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802:Stern, Adele H. (14 January 1961).
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196:. He also served as art critic for
13:
997:. Internet Archive. Archived from
381:Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc.
375:Cigars, a private label brand for
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1145:People from Englewood, New Jersey
1080:Irving Louis Koons, Cooper Hewitt
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662:. Bloch Publishing Company, 1941.
688:20,000 Leagues Behind the 8 Ball
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285:20,000 Leagues Behind the 8 Ball
190:United States Information Agency
180:to work as art director for the
122:firm particularly noted for the
238:
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804:"He's an Artist in Any Outfit"
695:The Poor Man's Guide to Europe
653:Books illustrated by Irv Koons
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289:The Poor Man's Guide to Europe
153:, where he studied art at the
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1110:American industrial designers
835:. Hagley Museum & Library
808:The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)
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669:. Simon & Schuster, 1946.
387:whiskey. Shortly thereafter,
212:National Art Gallery of India
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1125:Jewish American illustrators
230:, for the rest of his life.
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972:Steinberger, Staci (2009).
862:. Yeshiva University Museum
647:Calverton National Cemetery
348:The Middletown Daily Record
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1150:21st-century American Jews
942:Journal of Design History
643:Lillian Booth Actors Home
570:Yeshiva University Museum
566:Hagley Museum and Library
562:Jewish Museum (Manhattan)
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182:China Burma India Theater
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649:in Calverton, New York.
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346:newspaper in the world,
140:Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
56:Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1130:Artists from New Jersey
674:How Lost Was My Weekend
667:How Green Was My Father
485:American Cancer Society
277:How Lost Was My Weekend
257:How Green Was My Father
1022:"Eulogy for Irv Koons"
584:Teaching and lecturing
441:American Home Products
417:Milton Bradley Company
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1120:American illustrators
860:"Papers of Irv Koons"
690:. Random House, 1951.
683:. Random House, 1949.
676:. Random House, 1948.
497:United Cerebral Palsy
489:The Legal Aid Society
425:Johnson & Johnson
365:Saatchi & Saatchi
281:The Crazy Glasspecker
194:U.S. State Department
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144:Reading, Pennsylvania
75:Englewood, New Jersey
897:"Irving Louis Koons"
574:The Bancroft Library
554:Museum of Modern Art
437:American Can Company
429:Procter & Gamble
389:C.F. Mueller Company
352:Middletown, New York
319:Ladies' Home Journal
269:Pan American Highway
249:Simon & Schuster
174:Fort Meade, Maryland
1020:Koons, Jon (2017).
954:10.1093/jdh/12.1.25
702:Time Out for Turkey
658:Burstein, Abraham.
623:Tenafly, New Jersey
517:Closter, New Jersey
455:adhesive bandages,
433:Scott Paper Company
293:Time Out For Turkey
991:"Irv Koons Design"
833:"Irv Koons Papers"
543:St. Regis New York
383:, manufacturer of
331:Sports Illustrated
170:
67:September 10, 2017
1115:Product designers
731:978-1-951221-08-9
717:978-1-951221-17-1
613:, and elsewhere.
548:His products won
531:Awards and honors
473:Good & Plenty
325:Good Housekeeping
192:in India and the
159:settlement houses
120:industrial design
116:Irvin Louis Koons
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32:Koons, circa 1982
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1100:1922 births
787:27 February
761:27 February
550:Clio Awards
538:Plaza Hotel
385:Seven Crown
338:Type design
253:David Dodge
204:Roopa-Lekha
1094:Categories
1026:JestMaster
926:(83): 258.
737:References
449:Dixie Cups
267:, via the
134:Early life
48:1922-03-14
603:Amsterdam
599:SĂŁo Paulo
465:Chun King
313:Seventeen
265:Guatemala
20:Irv Koons
507:and the
463:coffee,
457:Scotties
453:Band-Aid
409:Gillette
295:(1955).
283:(1949),
279:(1948),
271:through
188:for the
1031:6 March
1005:6 March
920:Graphis
903:6 March
866:8 March
839:6 March
814:6 March
467:foods,
413:Nabisco
405:Clairol
301:Fortune
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611:Israel
595:London
572:, and
564:, the
560:, the
556:, the
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397:Revlon
344:offset
328:, and
273:Mexico
234:Career
91:Spouse
77:, U.S.
58:, U.S.
637:Death
445:Crest
377:Sears
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1007:2021
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469:Alpo
64:Died
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50:)
46:(
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